Illinois, Northwestern face lowered expectations

Monday

Nov 15, 2010 at 12:01 AMNov 15, 2010 at 3:02 PM

Illinois has a two-game losing streak. Northwestern just lost its star quarterback. Maybe the game between the two teams in Wrigley Field Saturday will be good enough on its own, just because of the atmosphere at the Friendly Confines.

John Supinie

Everything about coming weekend sounds special. When Illinois meets Northwestern in Wrigley Field for a Big Ten Conference game Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPNU), it's the first football played in the Friendly Confines since 1970.

Northwestern, the home team, stretched purple from one end of Wrigley to the other, and the Wildcats will ride the "L'' to Wrigley in pads for a practice Thursday. Across the street, orange will drape three Wrigley rooftops, and ESPN GameDay will make an appearance by bringing personalities Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Desmond Howard. Yet it must be for the atmosphere more than the game.

The Illini (5-5 overall, 3-4 in the Big Ten) and Northwestern (7-3, 3-3) limp into Wrigley with reduced expectations. Illinois lost two games with bowl eligibility on the line, and suddenly the season appears teetering on the brink. Meanwhile, Northwestern lost star quarterback Dan Persa for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon during the celebration of the game-winning touchdown pass against Iowa.

With Persa out, the Wildcats' hopes for a big finish are subdued, but it's not as bad as the mood around the Illini locker room.

"I hope they're feeling low,'' Illini coach Ron Zook said. "They ought to feel low. The coaches are feeling low. This ain't the time for the meek and the timid.''

Q: What happened to the Illinois defense?

A: Sounds like a defense that played the season with very little depth is running out of gas. The locker room was dead prior to the game at Michigan, safety Trulon Henry said, and had only a little more life before the meeting with Minnesota, a team that had lost nine straight games (including one to South Dakota) and fired coach Tim Brewster in mid-October.

If Illinois has any leadership to get over the hump, the Illini need it now after allowing 105 points and 1,037 yards in the last two weeks. Zook and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning pointed to poor tackling, which can often be a measure of desire.

"To me, tackling is energy, playing fast, flying around, and that's one thing, just like last weekend, we didn't do,'' Zook said. "We have to get that back.''

Minnesota also converted third down on seven of 15 attempts, including a 29-yard run on a quarterback draw by Adam Weber in the game-winning touchdown drive. Minnesota scored two touchdowns in the final 8 minutes to rally.

Q: Who plays quarterback for Northwestern?

A: Evan Watkins is a 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman from Glenbard North who attempted just seven passes while playing in four games this season. Persa, the Walter Camp Foundation player of the week, was scheduled for surgery Sunday. He ran for one touchdown and threw for two more against Iowa.

Watkins is considered a pro-style quarterback who doesn't have the mobility of Persa, a 6-footer who leads the Wildcats in rushing (519 yards, nine touchdowns). Persa also passed for 2,581 yards and 15 touchdowns with four interceptions.

Clearly, the Wildcats offense is handicapped without Persa. If the Illini can't take advantage of this opportunity, the season is melting down before the final game at Fresno State on Dec. 4.

Q: What's the mood in the Ubben Basketball Complex?

A: The 13th-ranked Illini appear ready for the first big test of the season at the 2K Sports Classic semifinals and finals in Madison Square Garden. The defensive intensity is up, and guard Demetri McCamey spearheaded an uptempo offense. The Illini (3-0) met a goal of being ready for this week, which begins by playing Texas Thursday (8:30 p.m., ESPN2). No. 5 Pitt likely awaits the winner Friday.

In the process, the Illini began answers some questions in the mind of coach Bruce Weber, who still had questions early Saturday morning.

"I woke up and had a knot in my stomach,'' Weber said after the 85-63 win over Southern Illinois Saturday. "Part of it is I don't know what my team is like. I'm starting to learn, so this makes it a lot easier.''